This blog was created for the spiritual enhancement of members of the Fellowship of Orthodox Christian University Students (F.O.C.U.S) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. It will allow members and fellow Orthodox Christians around the world to share their experiences of the Orthodox faith. May God be with all of us!
"This is the generation of those who seek the Lord" Psalm 24:6

Friday, October 2, 2015

Memoirs of a Greek Taxi Driver - "Thanasi, Today You Were Send to Me by Christ"

One
morning, I received a call by the taxi call center directing me to a nearby
shore. When I arrived at the address, I saw a very elderly man slowly coming
towards the taxi accompanied up to the door by his daughter. When this elderly
man entered inside and sat in front, he made a very good impression on me. His
smile, his courteousness, his entire demeanor drew my attention. He also had an
appetite for discussion during our trip since the route was quite long. We were
heading to some village where his summer house was. Thus, with the appetite to
talk and much time at our disposal, we discussed various social matters. In the
beginning, I politely asked him about his field of work. From what this man was
saying, I realized that he must have been very educated.

“I am a doctor Mr. Thanasi, but I have
been retired for many years. I spent most of my life in an operating room. I
also had my own clinic on such and such street; do you remember it?”

“Although I was born in 1961, I remember
something about it.”

“So, as a scholar, I loved medicine very
much, and I loved mankind. In my zeal and thirst for knowledge, God granted me
on top of material wealth, an invention in the surgical field which made my
name very well known. Patients would visit me not only from all over Greece,
but also from abroad. I worked many hours and on quite a few nights, one would
find me with the lancet in my hand. Sometimes, I would even sleep in the clinic
because I would be too tired to return to my home. I considered it my duty to
help my fellow man over and above everything else.”

“Doctor, please allow me to tell you
that I am so pleased that we have met.”

“The feeling is mutual Thanasi, and I am
sincere in saying this; by the way, I am also interested to find out your
educational level because I have the feeling that you are not just a taxi
driver.”

“I am an elementary school graduate, I
replied.”

“Thanasi, I understand that you are
trying to be humble, but please, tell me the truth, what did you major in?”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“Well, I am sorry, but I don’t believe
you.”

“Then, you will allow me to tell you a
very true story from my childhood which is a little comical, and then I am
certain that you will believe me. When I was little, the greatest nightmare for
me was school and education. Just imagine, it took me eight years to finish
that wretched elementary school. During the last grade, I was already shaving.
I was a foot taller than the other children. So in all these eight years, I
don’t remember, even once, answering my teacher correctly on the verbal quiz on
the daily lesson. Every day in class, I would try to hide behind my fellow
students. I didn't want my teacher to see me, so she wouldn’t call me up to the
blackboard for the daily lesson drill. Every time I was called up to the
blackboard, I was not only clueless of the daily lesson, but I didn’t even know
what subject we were on, whether it was geography, history or religion.

In order to hide very well behind the
back of the student who was in front of me, who was also hiding behind the one
in front of him, I would whisper to him, “Hey, don’t move and don’t bend
down." He, would then turn and tell me, “What are you saying you dunce?
You want me to be punished instead?”[1] And despite my hiding
attempts, my name would be called out loud and clear to walk towards the board
and to demonstrate my knowledge of the daily lesson in that class. The mere
announcement of my name was enough to make my legs tremble.

I will never forget during one of these
times, when I was standing for quite a while at the board and I would say,
“Today we will learn about our fatherland." I stopped for about five
minutes, and then again, “Today we talk about our fatherland," since I
didn’t know what else to say. So I turned and saw the teacher’s gaze. She was
looking at me from above her glasses and gritting her teeth. In that nasty
voice of hers she said, “You deafened us." I barely kept from soiling
myself. The children were bursting with laughter, and the whip would fall like
a storm. As you can understand, doctor, from the frequency of the daily
beatings, when I heard my name, I would no longer go to the board. Instead, I
would make the trip shorter by going straight to the desk to reap what was due.
So what do you say, now, do you believe me?”

The doctor broke out in laughter and
said, “Thanasi, you are a riot, truly awesome,” and he continued to laugh. We
both laughed very much, and while we spent some time discussing much
about the fruitless public educational systems, I wanted to shift the
conversation a bit towards spiritual matters, before our arrival.

I
had this good persisting thought working inside of me: I wonder, if this good
doctor, and very dear elderly man, who must be nearing his nineties, is ready
for heaven? Thus, after a brief prayer, and the use of much discretion, I
shifted the conversation towards this area. By the grace of God, the doctor was
very open for spiritual conversation. Furthermore, he told me, “Thanasi, I see
that you are very religious.”

“The Scribes and the Pharisees were
religious as well, but they remained outside the kingdom. You, doctor, are you
are you in good standing with the church?” I asked.

“Yes,
I don’t have a problem, although I didn’t have much time over the years for
church attendance. I had, however, my own way all these years, to approach and
to believe in Christ.”

“Would you mind sharing your way with
me, doctor, so I can understand?”

“Let me tell you; every time I was faced
with a difficult operation, I would spend some time in the room adjacent to the
operating room, which I had transformed as my own personal chapel. I would
kneel, pray extensively and lift my hands, to ask Christ to help me and my
patient.”

Oh,
my friends, when I heard the doctor speaking like this, I was overflowing with
joy, especially since it is not very common to hear such words from the mouths
of today’s doctors. Unfortunately this joy did not last very long because when
we focused the conversation more directly to the area of repentance,
confession, Holy Communion, the doctor was not on board. He became increasingly
defensive and justifying himself and said, “What area of my life do I need to
repent for, and why do I need to go to confession? I don’t remember having done
anything evil. Thanasi, please listen so you can see where I ‘m coming from. I
have my own philosophy in matters of faith, and I have held on to it throughout
my life.”

I replied, “Doctor, it is not a matter
of philosophy. Here we are dealing with matters of faith. There are many
philosophers, but there is only one Savior.”

He came back with, “Please consider that
being older than you, I may know something more.”

I added: “It is not a matter of age,
either. It is about the teachings of the Gospel which calls one to sincere
repentance and confession so he or she may properly prepare to often partake
with reverence of the Body and the Blood of our Christ,” I replied.

“No, Thanasi, I don’t agree with
repentance and confession. Furthermore, I don’t feel the need to repent for
anything nor to go to confession.”

“Very well, since you don’t agree with
repentance [and since you happen to be wiser than me], tonight when I go home,
I will open the New Testament, and wherever I encounter the word repentance, I
will draw a smudge or better yet, rip the page out, which means that I will
remove over 100 pages from the New Testament. What do you say?”

“Well, now, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Doctor, since you don’t agree with it,
and I don’t agree with it, we can wipe it out with one stroke of the pen so
it’s no longer there to reprove us.”

“Now just a minute Thanasi, so I can get
things straight. To begin with, why must I go to a physical church? Isn’t the
Church of God everywhere? Furthermore, why must I have any dealings with a
priest? That’s what I could not understand all these years. Why should I go to
the priest?”

“Doctor, please allow me to ask you, are
you married?”

“Why, what are you saying now? I have
grandchildren.”

“Great! Where did your marriage ceremony
take place?”

“What, do you mean where did it take
place? We went to church, where else?”

“Ohhh! So, you went to church, in front
of a priest. Doctor, why the church and not the patio on the flat roof of your
house? What would the church possibly have more so than your roof top patio?
You could call fifty, one hundred friends, open a few bottles of wine, play
some music, and have someone from your group bless the crowns. What more could
the priest offer you? Everything would be just fine. So, why did you go to a
church, and why did you go to a priest? I would like you to answer me.
Moreover, when you baptized your children, and your grandchildren, where did
you go? I will tell you, my doctor. You went to the church. But why the church?
Why didn’t you stay at your home, fill your bathtub with water, and have
someone dip the children three times and why not thirteen times since these
things don’t have much significance? Someone could slap a little oil on them,
and everything would be just fine. So, what more could the priest do for you
that you couldn’t take care of yourself. Furthermore, for you to understand it
better, the next time my stomach hurts, and I choose to go to a plumber, what
would you think? Oh, my doctor, my doctor, for all sacraments, we go to a
priest, but when it is time for repentance and confession, we are so quick to
say “Why should I go to a priest?”

I am very much afraid, that many of us,
due to the great egotism and pride we have, will not only be separated with
houses, land, money, stocks and bonds, taxis, and clinics, but worst of
all, we are in danger of being separated with Christ eternally. My dear doctor,
as a man of high education, I would like you to consider eternity [without
Christ]! The loss of Christ! God forbid!

My friend , in a few minutes as you
enter your home, stand before your iconostasis, and ask the saints there, “My
saints, did any of you reach sainthood without holy confession and shedding
tears of repentance? And I'm certain the answer will come to you soon enough.”
At that point, the doctor refrained from asking me any other questions.
Seemingly perplexed, he lowered his head, and remained silent.

And my last words were, “My doctor,
forgive me, but you forgot one thing in your life. You have been holding the
surgical scalpel in your hand for so many years, and it has healed thousands of
people, it has performed some miraculous healings, but it never occurred to you
to turn it inside of you to make your own incision, your own personal surgery
in order to excise your spiritual maladies. As you understand, I’m referring to
the spiritual lancet, which hurts even more.”

Here,
my friends, these words finally touched a sensitive chord in the doctor. As his
tears began to flow, he tried to apologize and I said, “No, my doctor, don’t
apologize because these tears are the most beautiful tears Christ has been
waiting from you for ninety years now.” “My dear Lord, how could I possibly
describe the indescribable? He cried and sobbed like a child and in this
spiritual wailing, he turned and said to me, “My dear Thanasi, Christ sent you
my way today!”

My God! My God! What beautiful words!
What a beautiful outcome! What beautiful moments. These special blessings will
stay with me for the rest of my life! In the last couple of miles our
relationship became completely different. He asked me to come by two days later
to take him to a good spiritual father if I happen to know of one.

I
said, “My doctor, I have a wonderful spiritual father for you, full of meekness
and love. By the way, have you ever been to confession?

“I have never confessed, my dear
Thanasi, ever.”

“Nor have you communed?”

“Not even once.”

Oh, my dear Lord, a ninety year old man
who never communed even once after his infant baptism.

When I left, I immediately called Father
Thomas, because Father Triantafyllos was not available. I gave him a brief
account of the events, and precisely what transpired with our dear doctor, and
Father Thomas asked me, “Are you speaking about the world-renown doctor who had
the clinic on such and such street?”

“Yes, father, do you know him?”

“What are you saying, Thanasi? All of
Greece and Europe knows him. Please bring him; just call me a few minutes
before you come.”

“It will be my pleasure,” I said and I
was flying with untold joy. Sure enough, I drove with my private car to the
doctor’s house to pick him up, and we had a soul-benefitting conversation on
the way concerning confession. I wanted to prepare him so that he understood
that repentance needs to precede confession. Among other things, I said,
“Confession, my doctor is not merely a pronouncement of a list of sins; it must
be accompanied with pain of soul, and compunction, it is an acknowledgment of
our sinfulness, just like the prodigal son’s.”

The doctor was accepting and
understanding everything I was telling him, without any objection. Thus we
finally ascended the stairs of the church, and we arrived at the confessional
to find many people waiting and most of them young students. Of course, they
immediately requested that we go ahead of them, understanding that an elderly
man could not remain standing for a long time. Father received the doctor with
much joy and love. While my elderly friend was in the confessional, I was
praying through the inner depths of my soul. I was asking our sweetest Jesus to
enlighten and soften this heart, regardless of my sinfulness. The devil had
trapped his heart in the passion of self justification for 90 years, and I
prayed and wished for both of us to be together again, not just here on earth,
but in heaven for all eternity.

In a few minutes, the door opened and I
apprehensively went to receive our elderly doctor. Father Thomas smiled and
told me, “Everything is fine, Thanasi. Everything is fine. He may commune
whenever he wants.” “Glory to Thee our Lord, glory to Thee." My joy was
complete. I thanked the student who had given us his turn telling him, “May the
Panaghia reward you for your kindness!” His eyes glowed with emotion. As we
were exiting the church, the doctor was very happy and told me, “My dear
Thanasi, you don’t know what the father told me.”

“What did he tell you?”

“To begin with, when I entered, he
immediately recognized me. He knew me from the days I ran the clinic. As soon
as I entered, he told me, “Come, my doctor, come, because we are colleagues.”

“Really, my father, are you a doctor as
well, I asked?”

“Yes, I am a doctor of the soul, as a
priest of the Most High, and you are a doctor of the body.

This
helped us to connect, and from there we progressed into confession and the
prayer of absolution.”

“Didn’t I tell you that father is
wonderful? He is full of meekness and love.”

We continued our joyous discussion in
the car, and in a few minutes we arrived outside his home. I offered to give
him a ride to Church so we could take Holy Communion together next Sunday
morning, but out of courteousness and humility, he didn’t accept my offer. As
we bade each other farewell with much joy, the elderly gentleman, deeply
touched by the day’s events, reiterated, “My dear Thanasi, I know and fully
understand that Christ sent you on my path. From here on, I know the way.”

I
escorted him to the door of his house, and after we exchanged a warm handshake,
I wished him “the joy and eternity of paradise." Even though I knew where
his house was, I never saw the doctor again. I had the sense that my mission
had come to an end. Now that I’m sitting and narrating this event, years later,
I would like to say to him the same thing over again, “Doctor, may you abide in
the joy and blessings of paradise, and please remember us in your prayers.”

Orthodox Christian Resources

The one who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of detachment knows no distinction between one’s own and another’s, between faithful and unfaithful, between slave and freeman, or indeed between male and female. But having risen above the tyranny of the passions and looking to the one nature of men he regards all equally and is equally disposed toward all. For in him there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither male nor female, neither slave nor freeman, but Christ is everything and in everything.

~ St Maximus the Confessor

Prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian- The Lenten Prayer:

O Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of laziness, meddling, ambition and gossip.

But grant to me your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love.

Yes, Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and faults, and not to judge my brother or sister, for you are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen.

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I want whoever is near me to feel that he has room to breathe, not that he is suffocated. I don’t call anyone to me. I don’t hold onto anyone. I don’t chase anyone away. Whoever wants comes, whoever wants stays, whoever wants leaves. I don’t consider anyone a supporter or a follower ~ Elder Epiphanios

Visit pantanassa monastery (click below)

My heart only has entrances. It doesn’t have exits. Whoever enters remains there. Whatever he may do, I love him the same as I loved him when he first entered into my heart. I pray for him and seek his salvation.

St John Chrysostom

St Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol

St Gregory Palamas

Prayers for Students

Christ my Lord, the Giver of light and wisdom, who opened the eyes of the blind man and transformed the fishermen into wise heralds and teachers of the gospel through the coming of the Holy Spirit, shine also in my mind the light of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Grant me discernment, understanding and wisdom in learning. Enable me to complete my assignments and to abound in every good work, for to You I give honour and glory.
Amen.

Prayers Before Study
Most blessed Lord, send the grace of Your Holy Spirit on me to strengthen me that I may learn well the subject I am about to study and by it become a better person for Your glory, the comfort of my family and the benefit of Your Church and our Nation. Amen

Christ, the true light, who enlightens and sanctifies every person coming into the world, let the light of Your countenance shine upon me (us) that I (we) may see Your unapproachable light; and guide my (our) steps in the way of Your commandments, through the intercessions of Your all-holy Mother and of all the Saints. Amen.

Prayer After StudyI thank You, Lord our God, that again on this occasion You have opened my eyes to the light of Your wisdom. You have gladdened my heart with the knowledge of truth. I entreat You, Lord, help me always to do Your will. Bless my soul and body, my words and deeds. Enable me to grow in grace, virtue and good habits, that Your name may be glorified, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

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The heart itself is but a small vessel, yet dragons are there, and there are also lions; there are poisonous beasts and all the treasures of evil. But there too is God, the angels, the life and the kingdom, the light and the apostles, the heavenly cities and the treasuries of grace—all things are there. ~St. Makarios